Toronto police have arrested 14 people – including a husband and wife duo – in a fraud and money laundering investigation where more than $8 million was allegedly stolen, investigators said Friday.
Police have named the investigation Project Fellowship.
The suspects allegedly used a litany of false identities to open various accounts, get credits cards and secure loans – “anything in relation to obtaining funds,” said Toronto police Const. Michael Lane.
Police allege the suspects cashed hundreds of fraudulent checks, and created legitimate businesses under false identities. They then allegedly used those businesses as covers to obtain even more cash. One woman arrested Monday was a fraud-detection agent.
To prevent banks from getting suspicious, Lane said the suspects bought fake websites and phone numbers for each business and fictitious identity, keeping careful records all the while.
“It was a very detailed and elaborate scheme,” Lane added.
The money was allegedly used to buy high-end products like luxury cars, Lane said.
A total of 14 people have been arrested in the investigation so far, with the latest two happening this past weekend. On Friday, Feb. 10, police arrested Balasubramaniam Shanjeefkaran, a 35-year-old man from Ajax, in relation to the fraud.
The next day, they searched his home and seized over 100 items. Based on the new evidence, police arrested Shanjeefkaran’s wife, 30-year-old Sukanya Panchalingam.
Panchalingam works at a financial institution as a fraud-detection agent, Lane said.
Both are charged with fraud, possession of proceeds obtained by crime and money laundering. Shanjeefkaran is also charged with unauthorized possession of counterfeit mark and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Police laid out a selection of the seized items Friday morning – stacks of debit and credit cards bound by bright blue rubber bands, expensive laptops and a selection of ID’s allegedly based on false identities.
Investigators also seized cars during the search, Lane said. Other vehicles, some of which have been found, were shipped to Quebec.
“Whatever they were able to obtain through their scheme, they were able to launder that and obtain the proceeds,” Lane said.
Companies and people were victimized by the fraud, he added, all of whom are cooperating with police. It’s unclear how long the scheme had been running, but it appears to have been “many years,” Lane said.
“It is a large financial loss to everybody,” Lane added.
The Project Fellowship investigation was sparked on June 28, 2016, after police started looking into a single incident where a woman cashed a fraudulent cheque. They later found that a large number – several hundred, according to Lane – had been issued using similar account information.
Various financial institutions, including banks, gave police information on the fake identities used to create accounts. Lane said investigators used that information, along with surveillance video, to identify suspects.
Lane said he believes there may be other victims, and he’s working to identify the people pictured on the fake ID.’s.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact police at 416-808-4200, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
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